Snow Angels
by InfernoAlive
Summary: On a winter afternoon, Clary finds the perfect opportunity to show Jace how to make a snow angel. One-shot.


It was in the middle of training with Jace that Clary caught her first glimpse of the falling snow, small flakes dancing gracefully through the air. Her inner child squealed in excitement and she dropped the sword she'd currently been holding to the floor, running over to the window to gape at winter's beauty. Her mind was already planning out a long list of things she could do in that wonderful blanket of white that was steadily forming: snowball fights, snowman making, tobogganing, snow angels…

"Clary, there demons out there or something?" She turned around to see Jace deftly taking a couple of seraph blades from the bracket on the wall before rushing over, his golden eyes narrowing expectantly.

"No, don't worry!" She laughed at his sincere face, "It's snowing!" He frowned, confused at how thrilled she seemed to be at… snow. Not a mountain of presents at the door, piles of jewels and gold spilling over - his girlfriend was getting excited over something as simple as snow. The frown didn't stay on his face for long though; the excitement brought an extra shine to her green eyes, a cute flush to her freckled cheeks. Moments like this, when she was happy, made Jace's heart beat harder at how much he loved her.

"Have you never seen it before?" He smirked, to which she playfully shoved in the chest, a rueful smile pulling at her lips.

"Of course I have! But I haven't gotten a proper chance in _ages_ to go out in it properly." When Jace raised his eyebrow, she was tempted to shove him again.

"Properly? It's the same snow every time, Clary. Can't really change how you experience it." She looked at him incredulously, and he thought over what he'd said, wondering if he'd somehow offended her.

"Yes you can! There's so many things to do in the snow, and I've never had enough time to do all of them… it gets dark really quickly during winter and I was always called inside early because my mum didn't want me out late." Clary sighed, but then her smile returned, bigger and brighter than before.

Her boyfriend looked at her blankly and she stared at him, "Don't tell me you've never played in the snow before, Jace?" When he didn't respond, a slice of sadness cut into her heart. She shouldn't really have expected it, what with Jace being the most driven Shadowhunter she knew, never sparing time for leisure and simple things and she felt sorry for him. "Well, that's something we have to change."

His eyes widened as she grabbed onto his hand, dragging him out of the training room, "Clary, I really don't need to, really-" She ignored him, pulling her coat and his off the hooks by the door. "I don't see the point. It's cold and wet and will ruin my hair…" Clary rolled her eyes; trust him to let his hair take top priority.

"Oh, shut up Barbie!" She threw his coat at him, before tediously undoing all the intricates locks on the huge door.

"Did I mention it's cold? Personally, I think the stuff's horrible-"

"You've never been out in it, Jace! How would you know?" She hadn't undone half the locks yet and her fingers were beginning to hurt. She should really tell Maryse and have them improved, or at least automatic.

"I've read about it." He shot back defiantly, and without even turning around, she knew he was holding his head high proudly, probably even pacing like a school teacher. "In poems it's described as "shards as glass" - not exactly cute and cuddly." Clary resisted the urge to snort out loud; he was taking this way too seriously. Why couldn't he, just this once, have fun? But then again, this was Jace Herondale, the best Shadowhunter of his age to have ever lived. Perhaps she was asking for too much - it was like telling an avenging angel to have a go at apple bobbing. "And in Shakespeare's words, the ninth circle of Hell is cold."

"Why don't we forget about glass and ninth circles of Hell and just enjoy it?" Clary said, the final lock opening to her relief. Slowly, she pulled open the door and was nearly blown off her feet by the sudden gust of wind that roared from outside. "By the Angel, that's some wind…"

"Clearly Mother Nature's feeling welcoming." Jace muttered under his breath, his skin instantly shivering from the drop in temperature. Who's terrible idea was this again? Oh yeah, not his. _His_ ideas were actually sensible and realistic. Sometimes he thought, Clary tended to take leaps of faith that he wasn't too enthusiastic to follow through with. "What a wonderful sight. Let's shut the door now." He made a move to close it firmly before he felt Clary's hands on the back of his shoulders. Distracted by her delicate touch, he didn't notice she was pushing him until he was outside, face deep in snow.

Clary laughed so hard, she nearly passed out, creasing up at the sight of Jace's blonde head slowly rising from the ground, his hair flecked with white. She stumbled outside as well, closing the door behind her while holding on tight to her woolly hat to stop it flying away in the wind. "Jace, you okay?" Coughing and spluttering, he rolled over to glare at her and she couldn't the giggle that escaped her mouth. He looked so comical with the snow caught in his hair and piling on top of his head by the minute, like a blonde marshmallow. The thought made her laugh until she was breathless.

Then Jace called out, "Clary, I - I don't feel so-" before he collapsed, his body going still. Shock made her numb to the bone and her heart pounded almost painfully against her ribcage as she ran over to him.

"Jace, by the Angel…" She tried to lift his head, fear for him building up in her throat, "Oh god, Jace-" Her scream was muffled as she was pulled down with him, his chuckles vibrating through her skin. That damn bastard!

Jace watched with amusement as she emerged from the snow, swearing at him, "Language, Fray." She responded by hitting him squarely in the chest with her small, gloved hands. He liked how they felt, warm and ironically gentle while they were out in the freezing cold. "In case you're wondering, I feel much better." Clary cracked at last, smiling and shaking her head at him like she didn't know what to do with him anymore. He grinned.

Just then, a surge of icy wind hit them and they both shuddered, holding tightly to each other. Clary, taking advantage of the situation, snuggled closer to his chest, sighing in content at the cozy cocoon of body heat they'd made. In her mind, the snow melted away beneath them, the snowflakes ceased to fall until it was just her and Jace on the ground, lying together and hugging tight like they would never let go off each other… The thought was bliss but another idea came her way and Clary couldn't wait to go through with it.

Jace felt as Clary's head lifted from his chest and she turned to look at him, her green eyes glowing with mischief. _By the Angel, what was she thinking of now…?_

Her voice was soft and curious when she asked him, "Ever made snow angels before, Herondale?" He wasn't fooled; though Clary went by the name Fray she was still a Morgenstern and Jace knew from experience that Morgensterns always had tricks up their sleeves. Even cute, doe-eyed ones that he was in love with.

"Can't say that I have," he said honestly, waiting for her to do something.

"Well then, how about I show you?" Clary volunteered, fighting the urge to not smirk as she watched Jace. She knew him well enough to recognise certain looks in his eyes: this was the look he had when he was trying to figure out something. She loved that look, it brought out the vulnerable human side to him that was rare. That proved he wasn't the all knowing, indestructible being he set out to be. Jace was a real person with real feelings and she marvelled at how far he'd come from the arrogant, careless guy she'd met at Pandemonium.

"Alright then, Fray." He chuckled as she sat up, facing him. For a second, he got distracted by how serene she looked in that moment, her beautiful red hair waving against the wind, her smile causing his pulse to skip a beat. Then, she gently took him by the shoulders and pushed forward so he fell onto the ground, with her on top of him. Leaning close, Clary whispered into his ear, "Now wave your arms up and down against the snow." Dazed, Jace barely took in what she was saying, dizzy with feel of her body pressed to his. Her hands wandered down his arms, as light as the flutter of a butterfly's wings. It was _too_ light, he needed more, he needed _her…_

"Clary…" He whispered back, his gaze drawn to her lips that were stretched into an innocent smile. God, that only made him want her more.

"Jace." She said, and he noticed her voice had gotten softer still, almost unbearable to hear in his current state. "Don't you want to make your snow angel?"

"Like hell I do." He shot back and Clary's heart beat faster as he grabbed her shoulders and rolled so he was the one on top, "Not when there's so much more entertaining things I can think of doing…" Her hands reached up to bury into his hair, and his golden eyes blazed with a light that made her shiver. The cold was the last thing she was thinking of though.

"You're beautiful." She murmured, because it was true. He was the definition of an angel in all his golden glory, and his touch brought her to life in a way no one else could.

He leaned down then, whispering against her lips, "And you're positively breathtaking." A blast of wind hit them hard, but Jace couldn't feel it any more than Clary could. They were lost in each other, kissing until everything else lost all meaning. Her hands looped around his neck, clinging to him like he was her life raft, her only means of survival. Jace wound his fingers through her fiery locks, his lips crushing against hers in a way that was almost painful but neither of them cared. Finally, they broke apart, breathing hard.

"Well then," Clary tentatively felt the top of my head, "Looks like I've lost my hat." Jace laughed.

"I never liked it that much anyway." When she glared at him, he chuckled, "It covered up your amazing crown of curls."

She blushed, rolling her eyes, "Oh god, my hair must be a wreck-" Jace cut her off, pressing a kiss to her lips before pulling away.

"It's perfect." As if to prove his point, he tugged on one of the curls that had fallen in front of her face affectionately, smiling as she did. Then, she turned around to see the mess they'd made in the snow, raising her eyebrows.

"Not exactly the snow angel I had in mind." Jace snorted at what they'd "made".

"Hm… maybe a demon of some sort? A Hydra?" Clary laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. She noticed that night had fallen, and the sky was a deep black. Barely any stars shone but here with Jace, she felt safe.

"We tried. That wasn't the reason I wanted to go out anyway. I just wanted to have fun. Did you?"

She could hear the smirk in his voice, "Saying I had fun would be an understatement, Fray." Clary thanked the Angel it was too dark for him to see her blush _again._ They sat in comfortable for a bit until Jace spoke.

"I'll admit it, snow isn't _completely_ horrible."

* * *

 **Just a little Clace one-shot to say Merry Christmas to all of you! Hope that you've all been enjoying the holidays and having fun ;)**

 **~InfernoAlive x**


End file.
